Domestic rates are the local government taxation in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. Rates are a tax on property. Domestic rates consist of two components, a regional rate set by the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

and a district rate set by local councils. Rate levels are set annually. Valuation and rating of property is handled by Land and Property Services. Domestic rates are unique to Northern Ireland, in the rest of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

the local taxation is

Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...

Valuation

Land and Property Services is the authority responsible for registering and valuing property. The domestic rates are based on the capital value of the residential property on 1 January 2005. This is in contrast to non-domestic rates on businesses which are based on rental value.

District rate

The district rate is set by local authorities, the eleven district councils. It is for services such as refuse collections and disposal, leisure, parks and street cleaning. District rates in 2019 to 2020 are as follows:

Regional rate

The regional rate is set by the

. It is used for services such as education, health and roads.

Rate Rebate

Working age customers living in Northern Ireland and claiming

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom social security payment. It is means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits for working-age households with a low income: income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker' ...

can now claim Rate Rebate for help with domestic rates.

Housing benefit

Another rebate existed for domestic rates. Confusingly, this was named ''Housing Benefit & Rate Relief'', despite another ''

Housing Benefit Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state ...

'' also existing to assist with rent payments. This benefit is now restricted to pensioners, and benefit claimants receiving a Severe Disability Premium. Administration of ''Housing Benefit'' was split between two organisations depending on whether the claimant was renting or was an owner-occupier; tenants could claim both kinds of ''Housing Benefit'', while owner-occupiers could only get ''Housing Benefit'' for rates. * Tenants had to apply to the

Northern Ireland Housing Executive The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is the public housing authority for Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest social housing landlord, and the enforcing authority for those parts of housing orders that involve houses with multiple ...

regardless of whether they rented from a private landlord, from the NIHE itself, or from a housing association. * Owner-occupiers had to apply to the Land and Property Services agency.

References

External links

A guide to Rates
{{Rates in the United Kingdom Local taxation in the United Kingdom Local government in Northern Ireland Rates in the United Kingdom